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Friday, February 23, 2018

Who knew? The very affordable Nivea Soft Cream was hailed to be even better than its expensive counterparts as a moisturizer! BBC's 'The Truth About Looking Good" did a test on which moisturizers worked best, by measuring which one actually lifted up the moisture levels the most of a test group.

Nivea's Soft Cream was pitted against Clinique's Dramatically Different moisturizing lotion and Embryolisse's Lait-Crème Concentré. Participants were split into three groups and were asked to apply moisturizer on one half of their faces for three weeks. The participants were not told about the brands of moisturizers they used, and were just sent home with plain containers, with the creams concealed as cream A, B, and C. When they came back and had their moisturized sides measured, Nivea emerged as the true winner! In terms of injecting water to the skin, only Nivea and Clinique managed to do so. The two also managed to change how the skin felt like. To everyone's shock, the most expensive one, Embryolisse, came in last in this test!

Y'all can check out the findings in this video!

And now, what spelled the difference? Humectants. Humectants are the ingredients that hold onto water in our skin. One of the most common ones, of course, is glycerin. The more glycerin there is in a product, the more hydrating it will turn out to be. Instead of being distracted by price tags, consumers can get better value for money by seeing the rank of glycerin in the ingredients list.

Surprisingly, none of the three products tested improved skin health, or the overall barrier of the skin against dryness and irritation. This finding, to me, just shows that skincare should really be done on a daily basis because your skin only benefits when you constantly nourish it with the right ingredients. I like to personally tell people that skincare works a lot like how vitamin supplements do. The moment you stop taking vitamins, you stop benefiting from them. We all know that we cannot drink one whole bottle of vitamin capsules in one day because our body will end up expelling the excess within days (or a day), and that once we expel it, we need to take it again to be nourished again.

So to sum it all up, wow, just wow! Who knew the best moisturizer was this affordable? Nivea Soft Cream only costs Php251 for a generous 200mL tub that will last the consumer several months.

And, I also learned the difference between Nivea Creme and Nivea Soft Cream! Turns out, Nivea Creme, the one in the tin cans, is a water-in-oil emulsion. What this means is that they embedded water droplets in oil, such that your skin is nourished first by the oil, then hydrated by the water. Nivea Soft Cream, on the other hand, is an oil-in-water emulsion. What this means is that there are oil droplets in water, such that your skin immediately is able to absorb the product through the lightweight water phase, and gets nourished later on by the oil content. What a discovery for me!

Monday, February 19, 2018

Manila, Philippines – For many couples, nothing
can be more inspiring than to plan for that special day. Equally, nothing can
be more heart-breaking than continuing to face challenges to keep those dreams
beyond reach. In a heart-warming video released on February 14, HSBC makes a
dream come true for an extraordinary couple who
triumphed and overcame all odds to walk down the aisle.

Moises and Shara’s story is one of great perseverance and faith. The
couple had been together for seven years, and as with any other, nothing could
be more exciting than the prospect of finally being able to tie the knot. Throughout
the years, the couple attempted to plan their wedding multiple times, but what
with Shara’s growing financial responsibilities with her family and Moises
needing to resign from his job due to an accident, the special day always remained
elusive.

Despite all this, the couple persevered and finally set their wedding to
happen on December 2017. Before joy could fully settle in, the couple faced yet
another set-back: Shara was diagnosed with a tumor in her neck. Most of the
couple’s resources were pooled together to begin Shara’s treatment and yet
again, their special day seemed beyond grasp.

Committed to helping people succeed and see their dreams come to life,
HSBC made the dream wedding of Moises and Shara possible, and on February 3, the
couple finally became Mr. and Mrs. Santos. “At HSBC, our ultimate goal is to
empower people like Moises and Shara to realize their ambitions and dreams. We
are driven by our long-term commitment to seeing people prosper despite any of
life’s challenges and our promise is to always be there to help our customers
succeed. It was our privilege to be able to help a couple that had such an
inspiring story, and to continue building relationships with our customers and
seeing them thrive,” shares Kris Werner, SVP and Head of Retail Banking and
Wealth Management for HSBC.

Monday, February 19, 2018

Manila, Philippines – Withmore than 50% of the
Philippine population gaining internet access, the country no doubt has become
a digital nation with technology completely transforming even the way people
start and operate their businesses. It has become simpler for creative and
business savvy individuals to pursue their goals and passions and anyone – from
work-at-home parents, to students, start-up entrepreneurs, up to hobbyists –
can now easily turn their passions and ambitions into business opportunities
with the newest Canon PIXMA G Series printers.

“With Filipinos becoming more influenced and looking into turning their hobbies
into potential lucrative business opportunities, Canon aims to provide their
needs with the expertise, right tools, and technology to help them succeed. We aim to make starting
businesses more delightful for anyone, building their dream ventures from
simple passion projects and creative ideas with a companion they can truly
trust.” shares Benny Yu, CMPI Head of
Consumer Imaging and Information Division.

There are many ways by which the Canon
PIXMA G Series printers can help creative individuals start their own
business. It is the
entrepreneur’s best bet to address business’ printing needs with its unique design, printing quality, hardware durability, versatility, and boasting
of high-volume production printing at low cost per print with inks available at
P295 per bottle, which can yield 7,000 colored prints and 6,000 black &
white prints. It also champions convenience perfect for students, moms or
hobbyists with its built-in Wi-Fi features that can help print from anywhere, coupled with borderless
photo printing, PosterArtist Lite app, and Creative Park access to help create anyone’s
own arts and crafts to turned into sellable merchandise.

During the fun-filled Canon
BLISS: Borderless, Limitless in Service
Satisfaction PIXMA Carnival launch event, the digital imaging brand
unleashed and showcased the G SeriesPrinters’ three unique specialty
features -- borderless printing and creative features, value for money, and a
hassle free-warranty with improved after sales services.

Atop its quality and
built-in features, users can also enjoy 2 years of confident printing and
additional confidence boost with the top up option for warranty extension – no
need for printing capacity to avail of warranty. With 12,000 black prints extra
mileage (free ink catridges), free pick-up and delivery for repairs within
Metro Manila up to 3 months within purchase, users can be free of worries and
hassles making their start-up business work flow and operations more efficient.

For more information about the new PIXMA
G-Series Printers, visit www.canon.com.ph.

Thursday, February 08, 2018

A
tradition in almost all of Ballet Manila’s performance seasons, Ballet & Ballads, once again returns
to the stage to bring music and lyrics to life. And in an effort to bring
ballet to the people and the people to the ballet, the country’s premier
classical dance company plans to close its current season with a star-studded
affair.

Ballet
Manila CEO and Artistic Director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde muses about the latest
installment, “It combines a singer with
ballet numbers—an interesting concept that we’ve been experimenting with for
quite some time now. It’s an entertaining way to enjoy ballet, especially for
first-time audiences.”
Heartthrob
crooner Christian Bautista is set to lead the roster of singers as a guest
performer. He’ll sing some of his greatest theater hits, as well as songs from
his latest album.

Joining
Christian are artists from the Klassikal Musical Foundation (KMF) such as
Andrew Fernando (Baritone), Jade Riccio (Soprano), Stephanie Aguilar (Soprano),
Krisann Manikan Tan (Mezzo Soprano), Leo Angelo Lanuza (Tenor), and with the
special participation of Dr. George T. Yang (Tenor). This marks the first-ever
creative partnership between the country’s premier classical dance company and
KMF.

The
ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra, no less, will serenade the audience during the
entire night. The acclaimed group has also prepared a very special Teleserye suitefeaturing a selection of classic hits from the ABS-CBN primetime repertoire.
The show will surely trigger some nostalgia, especially among fans of Filipino
pop culture.

Ballet & Ballads will also mark the world premiere
of Martin Lawrance’s Aria, which will
feature five acts covering classical operas. The British choreographer
previously partnered with Ballet Manila for the highly acclaimed Rebel and Amid Shadows. Lisa shares, “He
really is a genius when it comes to weaving a ballet together and exploring movement
with different kinds of music. The idea was first to combine musical theater
and ballet. But when he proposed the classical arias instead, I told him to go
for it!”
With
such a powerhouse lineup for Ballet &
Ballads, the audience is set for pure enjoyment when the curtains go up in
Aliw Theater. As the Prima Ballerina sums it up best, “Dancing creates a visual representation of music, and when that music
is played live by the ABS-CBN Philharmonic and sung by Christian Bautista and
the KMF classical singers, it complements Ballet Manila’s mastery of the Vaganova
technique. It is really a concert like no other.”

Show Schedules
The
newest installment of “Ballet & Ballads” will premiere on February 10, 2018
at 6:00PM at the Aliw Theater. There will be three other shows: February 11,
(3:00PM), February 17 (6:00PM), and February 18 (3:00PM).
For more information about the shows, including
ticket prices and schedules, you may visit www.balletmanila.com.ph or follow Ballet Manila on Facebook, Twitter,
and Instagram. Tickets are also available through all TicketWorld outlets.
Please call 891-9999 or visit www.ticketworld.com.ph for more information. In addition, those who
are planning to watch all the shows may take advantage of the company’s Season Subscription Programs, which offer up to 50% discount on
ticket prices. For more information, you may visit www.ticketworld.com.ph/balletmanila/Online and
click on ‘View Details’ under ‘Season Subscription Program’.

The Blogger

Mari is a random human who likes cats, makeup, and having an online playground. Doll Up Mari is the place where you, ehem, doll up Mari. This is a Pinay beauty blog run by a citizen living in the Philippines who is still looking for a less grand term than Pinay Beauty Guru to refer to herself.

Mari is still figuring out how to use a management degree while drowning in kitty fur and can work part time as a PR strategist aside from her meow-my duties.